Chapter Nine

As the time wound down and the final hour began, everyone grew all the more tense. Seto, who had continued to be quiet, still believed they would make it. He wouldn't be surprised if they came through at the last possible moment. Anything to be dramatic, he thought with mounting sarcasm.

Téa had grown very tense. "Where could they be?!" she exclaimed. "There's not much time!"

Lumis gripped a handful of Umbra's shirt. "They're going to be here," he snarled. "They're going to . . . !"

"Of course they will be," Atem agreed. But as the clock ticked ominously on, he couldn't deny the fear rising in his heart. What if . . . horribly . . . they didn't make it in time? Would they really not be allowed back, even if it hadn't been their time to die? It surely couldn't have been their time or the chance wouldn't have been offered to them, would it? Were people allowed to appeal to go back even if it was their time?

He ran a hand over his face. As much as he wanted to, he really didn't understand any of this.

Joey's phone dinged and he looked at it. "Mai says Vivian's going nuts. She started knocking stuff down in the storeroom and Duke and David had to rush in to stop her!"

"She's that worried about Yugi?" Tristan said in disbelief.

"Or she's just mad that she's being kept down there," Joey said. "Now they have to rout her out."

"She's not coming back up here?!" Téa exclaimed.

". . . Mai wonders if she might calm down if Lector's with her," Joey said.

Nesbitt went stiff. "No!"

Lector groaned. "I've already given her the wrong ideas and encouraged her without meaning to. I don't think I can do anything else without it causing more harm than good."

Joey quickly texted that to Mai. "You're probably right," he said. "Man, she's a character from the word Go! I dunno what any of us can do with her!"

"Mai must be at her wit's end too," Nesbitt grunted.

They all heard the loud crash and wail from downstairs.

". . . I guess she read Mai's text," Joey realized.

Tristan slapped his forehead. "Is she serious?!"

Lector shut his eyes tightly and finally turned to the door. "I suppose I'll have to go," he said. "We can't have her breaking the store."

"And we can't have her fondling you either," Gansley retorted.

"I won't let her," Lector insisted.

"Of course not," Nesbitt grunted. "Especially since you'll have help keeping her away."

Vivian was flying up the stairs just as Lector opened the door. Without skipping a beat, she ran up and embraced him. At the bottom of the stairs, Mai and Duke both facepalmed. David just shook his head.

"They're trying to keep me away from everyone!" Vivian fumed.

Nesbitt immediately made a move towards her, but Lector was already easing her back from him. "That's because you've been making a scene," he told her. "If you could just settle down and be considerate of everyone else, they would let you stay."

"And you don't want me either," she said morosely.

"I took you to dinner to be a gentleman, but I'm afraid you read more into it even though I said there wasn't anything else," Lector said. "I don't want to make any more mistakes like that; it isn't good for either of us."

Vivian pouted. "What if I changed?"

"I'm honestly not interested in any romantic relationship right now," Lector said. "But regardless of that, you've been extremely bent out of shape today about Yugi."

"What does that have to do with it?" Vivian retorted. "I love Yugi too!"

"You can love many people, but you can't be in love with many," Lector said. "As I recall, you have felt romantically attracted to Yugi and Mr. Kaiba in the past, and I have no reason to believe you don't still have that interest in Yugi, at least. If I was going to get romantically involved with someone, she would have to be completely faithful to me." He folded his arms. "I don't think you could do that."

Vivian looked away with a scowl. She had to admit Lector was probably right. The thought of only focusing on one man sounded impossible to her. She adored Yugi, and Seto, and Lector, and Nesbitt, and others too. She wanted them all! But Lector wouldn't put up with that, and she doubted Nesbitt or Seto would either. Yugi might be too sweet to protest at first, but eventually maybe he would also get fed-up.

". . . I want to stay until Yugi wakes up, but then I guess I should go," she finally conceded.

Lector started to relax in relief. "I think you should. There's nothing for you here."

"Unless you wanna help the Paradox Brothers take this stuff back to China," Joey said.

The Brothers shot him a Look.

"We do not need help," Para snapped. "Especially from her."

"Particularly since she would rather look at men and purr," Dox added.

"Hey! I can be serious about my job!" Vivian cried. "And I was actually asked to get these things back! You two just came on your own!"

"Truthfully, we were asked that same day," Para said.

"Your friend was afraid that from your task you would stray," Dox said.

"WHAT?!" Vivian screamed.

"Be quiet!" Lumis suddenly snapped. "There's only twenty minutes left!"

Everyone did indeed fall silent again. No matter how strongly they believed everything would be alright, it grew more and more worrisome as the window of opportunity ticked itself shut. Even Vivian forgot her indignation over the Paradox Brothers' announcement. For now, even she would behave.

"Oh Yugi," Téa whispered, leaning over her oldest friend. "Please don't stop fighting! You have to make it back! You just have to!"

Lumis clutched Umbra's hand, praying and hoping against hope to feel some movement. With so few minutes left, what could be happening over there?

xxxx

Masked Beast Des Gardius crashed through the forest, attacking whatever Duel Monsters got in its way as it continued on its desperate mission. Yugi and Umbra were clinging to its back for dear life. With time running down, Yugi had decided they should ride the rest of the way. Umbra had been more than a little reluctant, but had finally agreed. He was behind Yugi, trying to keep the boy balanced while also holding onto the creature. With all the movement of battle, that was no easy task.

"There's only ten minutes left!" Yugi cried over the sound of crunching logs and boulders.

"And we still don't even know how to get out of here!" Umbra exclaimed.

Des Gardius came to a halt at a rope bridge. He knew his weight would promptly break it.

"What's the problem?" Umbra peered around the beast and then stared. "We have to go over that?!"

Yugi jumped down. "I guess so. Wow, it looks pretty rickety. . . ." He swallowed hard.

"But that looks like everyone else on the other side!" Umbra pointed to a faint scene on the opposite side of the bridge. Indeed, there was Duke's office, and there was everyone gathering around, worrying over Yugi and Umbra laying lifeless on the couches. Umbra cringed. Seeing his own dead body was more than a little surreal and uncomfortable.

Yugi gasped. "Then we have to get across! This is the way home!" He turned to face the Duel Monsters. "Thank you so much for all of your help," he said. "We got here barely in time, and it's all thanks to all of you."

Maha Vailo nodded. "We were honored to be of help. Go now, Master."

Still rather uncomfortable with talking to Duel Monsters, Umbra awkwardly nodded. "Yeah. Thanks a lot, all of you. . . ." He stared up at Des Gardius. "Are you really my and Lumis's Des Gardius? The same one who came over to our world?"

Des Gardius growled.

"We were all summoned here to help you win," Silent Swordsman said. "Yes, we're yours."

"That's awesome," Yugi smiled. "Then this isn't Goodbye; we'll definitely be seeing you again!" He started towards the bridge.

Umbra was still confused. "But . . . our Des Gardius already knew Yugi wasn't the enemy. Why the attack at first?"

"He was put under a spell as part of a test of character," Maha Vailo said. "And you passed."

Umbra wasn't sure he liked that. "Did he agree to that?!" he cried.

"Not until he was told it was imperative to your success," Maha Vailo said.

Des Gardius gently shoved Umbra towards the bridge. He stumbled, catching the first wooden spoke. "Alright, I'm going." But he looked back. "Thank you. . . ."

Des Gardius gave a nod.

By now Yugi was halfway across. As Umbra joined him, the bridge began to rock in a disturbing manner. Umbra went stiff, gripping both sides of the rope in terror. "It's not going to hold!"

"It has to hold!" Yugi exclaimed. He looked back. "It's going to be okay, Umbra! We just have to get across and we're home!"

"I know, but . . ." Umbra quaked. As he looked down, the bottom looked horrifyingly similar to the shaft he had fallen through in Battle City. And this time he didn't have a parachute. He choked and shut his eyes. "Maybe if I don't look. . . ."

Yugi peered down at the abyss too. Instead of that scene, he saw what looked like the bottomless pits in Atem's tomb. He shuddered. "Yeah, that's a great idea," he said. "Let's not look."

Again he advanced, slowly, keeping his eyes focused on the scene ahead. The closer they drew, the clearer it became. "There's just a little more now, Umbra," he called. "We're almost there!"

Umbra trembled. He was moving much more slowly than Yugi, and he was still keeping his eyes closed. He couldn't look down, but if his eyes were open, he knew he would see some of the scene below even if he looked ahead. And he couldn't see that place again. His and Lumis's foolishness had almost caused them to die there, even though no one had been supposed to lose. Marik had told them not to let Yugi or Seto die because Marik had other plans for them, Yugi especially. It had only been a distraction. But they had wanted to be prepared and so they had parachutes just in case they lost.

And Umbra had lost. . . .

Even knowing he had the parachute, the terror of falling was something he would never forget. He hadn't even been sure the parachute would work. Then it had, but it had gotten stuck, and he had been forced to hang from that blasted flagpole screaming for help for he didn't know how long. And he hadn't been able to refrain from looking down, at least a couple of times. Then he had tried to keep his eyes shut until he was rescued.

He had developed a phobia of heights from that experience. And if all of that wasn't bad enough, he had been told after his rescue that Lumis was in a coma and completely brain-dead from some unknown cause. Umbra had known the cause. He had heard Marik controlling Lumis on the roof, and he knew what happened to any Rare Hunters he did that to.

He had stayed up all night with his friend, devastated and longing for some kind of a miracle. They didn't deserve it, of course, but he couldn't bear to lose his only friend. It had been a long and agonizing night and day of reflection and figuring out what mattered most. Over and over he had been haunted by how he had snapped at Lumis and blamed him for their failed attack during the duel, when by contrast Lumis had just been worried whether Umbra was alright. It had looked like Lumis would never be alright again, and Umbra had snapped, sobbing and begging his comatose friend's forgiveness.

He had tried his hardest to be a better friend ever since Lumis had been allowed to live. They still argued at times, of course, but they never allowed that to divide them.

"Umbra!"

Umbra started, finally daring to open his eyes.

"You made it across!" Yugi beamed.

Stunned, Umbra looked around. He really had; he was standing on solid ground again. The rope bridge was behind him.

"Come on!" Yugi grabbed his hand. "Let's get home to everyone!"

Umbra was all too willing to hurry along with him. They were really going back. . . .

They passed through a strange film that seemed to be surrounding the barrier between the worlds. As soon as they did, Umbra was suddenly laying down on the couch and Lumis was calling to him.

"Umbra?! Can you hear me?! Please be alright . . . you have to be alright. . . ." His voice shook. "You're out of time. . . ."

Umbra forced his eyes open. "It's alright, Lumis," he rasped. "We made it back. . . ." He stared up at his friend in awe, but the sight only lasted a split-second as Lumis's face filled with joy. Then he lunged forward, clutching Umbra close.

"You're okay!" Lumis exclaimed. "Oh Umbra, you're really okay!"

Umbra hugged him. "Yeah," he said. "Everything's okay now."

Yugi was reviving too. "Hi, guys," he smiled, looking up at Atem and Téa and everyone else who was gathering around.

"Yugi!" Téa cried. "Oh Yugi!"

Yugi was promptly pulled into many hugs at once. Vivian, so happy to see him back, started to run forward to join them all. But then, feeling Mai's gaze on her, she stopped.

Lector stood back with a smile. "They're really back," he said. "It worked. . . ."

Nesbitt finally relaxed. "Thank God."

"You should also thank the boy Noa," Shadi remarked as he suddenly appeared in the room.

Everyone jumped.

"Noa?" Yugi said in surprise.

Noa gawked. "What did I do?"

"You offered to return to the afterlife to allow both of them back," Shadi told him. "That you would think such a thing when you yourself wanted to live was an unselfish act worthy of unlocking this condition for saving them both."

Mokuba stared. "That's awesome!" he beamed.

Noa was still in shock. "I had no idea. . . ."

Atem looked up from his embrace with Yugi. "Then that's why it was offered," he said in surprise.

"Yes," Shadi said. "And now these items must be returned to China before anyone else can use any of them for ill purposes."

"But there's still one in the river in Domino Canyon," Vivian pointed out.

"Return all that you can and come back for the remaining item as the winter fades," Shadi said.

"You know, you know an awful lot about these items," Joey said. "What else can you tell us?!"

"There is nothing else you need to know about them for now, including who their guardian is," Shadi said. "Perhaps at some future time that information will need to be had, but for now, it is unimportant." He looked from Yugi to Umbra. "Congratulations, both of you, on passing the test."

"Well . . . thanks," Yugi said. He was still reeling from all that Shadi had told them.

"I'm still not sure how I made it," Umbra admitted. "I guess . . . you were right, Yugi. . . ."

"Of course I was right," Yugi smiled.

"Right about what?" Lumis asked.

Umbra thought of brushing the question off, but then decided not to. "That I'm stronger than I thought," he mused.

"I think a lot of us are," Serenity said. "Probably every one of us." She looked around at the group. "And as horrible as today was, I think it's brought us all closer together."

Atem considered that. He had been so caught up in grief and worry over Yugi that it was hard for him to fully grasp such a concept, but there had been important development and bonding on many levels. Noa had wondered if he should give up his own chance in order to save both of them. Lumis had decided to try to save Yugi as well as Umbra. Serenity had reached out to him. Nesbitt had finally accepted that he was a good person. And it sounded like Yugi and Umbra had benefited from their journey back as well.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, you're right. And no matter what battles come at us in the future, this strengthened bond will help us fight them and win."

Yugi smiled. He knew he and Atem would share many conversations about what had happened tonight. He would probably have conversations with all of his friends. Lumis and Umbra would no doubt be talking as well. It would take time for all the hurt to heal. But a lot of good definitely had come out of this. Yami Marik, if he knew, must be absolutely on fire with frustration.

Lector looked to Nesbitt. "How are you feeling?"

Nesbitt sighed. "Better, in some ways. But this still shouldn't have happened at all."

"No, it shouldn't have," Gansley agreed. "And I know you will likely struggle with your feelings for some time to come. But at least the outcome was far better than what it could have been."

Nesbitt nodded. "Yeah. . . ."

Noa looked to Mokuba. "I'll need to be getting home now, Mokuba," he said. "But I'll call you."

"Great!" Mokuba beamed.

". . . You know, I wonder how your mom is gonna set you up for things like school and stuff," Crump realized. "I mean, how's she gonna fill out the papers and explain who you are? If there's any checking back, they'll probably find out you were dead and well . . . that's gonna be hard to explain. . . ."

"That's another reason she was keeping me in the house," Noa admitted. "We're still not sure how we're going to work that out. . . ."

"I'm sure we can help you find a way," Johnson said.

Seto scowled. He was also sure that he would end up dragged into it.

"Maybe the only way will be to simply tell everything," Bakura remarked, "no matter how outlandish it sounds."

Yugi looked to him with a start. "Oh . . . are you okay, Bakura?" he asked in concern. "I know you'd wanted to use the tiara for your mom and sister. . . . I'm sorry that didn't work out. . . ."

Bakura tried to smile. "I'll be alright, Yugi," he said. "I'm so glad you and Umbra are back. I'd really quite decided I couldn't use the tiara on my family. I didn't want to cause a disaster to get them back."

"Still, I'm sure this has been really hard for you," Yugi said.

"It's alright," Bakura insisted again.

Yami Bakura watched him carefully. Perhaps so, but he would see to it that they talked tonight as well.

Rishid looked to Marik. "This has been very hard on you as well, Brother," he said.

"I know," Marik said. "I just wish that evil being would leave us for good." He clenched a fist. "There has to be some way to keep him away from us."

"And I pray we will find it," Ishizu said. "But maybe his foolish use of the fox whip has already seen to that; he might not come back from this, even if he has indeed endured."

Marik sighed. "We can only hope."

Mokuba hugged him. "I bet Ishizu's right and he'll stay away for a long time now, at least."

Marik had to smile as he hugged back. "That would be incredible."

Joey looked to the Paradox Brothers. "So, I guess you guys are gonna get going now?"

"Yes, that is correct," Para said.

"We should leave before anything else is wrecked," Dox added.

"But we'll be back when we can get that pendant out of the river," Vivian insisted.

Lumis got up and held the tiara out to them. "You can take this now. . . ."

Dox accepted it. "Every light is now bright," he mused.

"In fifty years, it will be an obsolete sight," Para added.

"And then it will start all over again," Joey said. "Do people try to use the thing every fifty years?"

"Of course," Para said. "One way or another, someone always manages to sneak into its hiding place and wish on it."

"And it restores those it sees fit," said Dox.

"I wonder who really created these things anyway," Joey said. "And if we'll ever know who their guardian is. And why the heck Shadi was working so closely with them?!"

"Probably just because we were involved," Yugi said.

"And honestly, I'd be happy not to ever hear about any of these magic items again," Téa declared. "I'm sure we've all had enough of them!"

No one could deny that.